Sant Charandas

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Statue of Sant Charandas, Charandas Temple, Old Delhi.

Sant Charandas was a major Hindu religious teacher in Delhi during the eighteenth century.[1]

Biography

Caraṇdās (1703-1782) was born in Ḍahrā, near Alwar, but at the age of seven he was brought to Dehli after the death of his father. Caraṇdās claimed his guru was Śukdev, the mythological narrator of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. He founded the Caraṇdāsī Vaiṣṇav sect in 1753.[2]

Teachings

Charandas is the author of around twenty works.[3] Many of these are in verse and deal with aspects of devotion, particularly relating to the worship of Krishna.[4] He is credited by his followers with a vision of Krishna while on pilgrimage to Vraj in mid-life, as well as a further meeting with Shukdev at the same time.[1]

He wrote commentaries on various Upanishads, particularly the Katha Upanishad,[4] and on specific yoga practices, especially Pranayama, control of the breath.[5]

A member of the Sant mystical tradition,[6] Charandas's teachings draw on a wide range of sources and emphasize the nearness of the Divine to each person, the need to follow a guru, the importance of sharing in a community of like-minded believers not dependent on caste (Satsang), and the value of leading a strictly moral life.

Two of his major disciples, Sahjo Bai and Daya Bai, both women, are also famous for their poetry.[7][8][9]

Sources

  1. ^ a b Gold, D. (1987). The Lord as Guru: Hini Sants in the Northern Indian Tradition. New York: Oxford University Press.
  2. ^ Maheswari, Hiralal (1980). History of Rajasthani Literature. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 131–132.
  3. ^ Sukla, S (1995). Charandasia Sampraday aur uska Sahitya. Varanasi: Kali Prakasan. pp. 132–161.
  4. ^ a b Charandas (2001), Bhaktisagar, Mumbai: Khemraj Srikrishnadas Prakashan
  5. ^ Charandas, Astangayogavarnan [Astanga Yoga of Saint Charandas], Translated Om Prakash Tiwari (1983), Lonavla: Kaivalyadham Press
  6. ^ Schomer, K; McLeod, W (1987). The Sants. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
  7. ^ Bai, Sahjo (2001) [1903]. Sahaj Prakash. Translated by Harry Aveling; Sudha Joshi. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Allahabad: Belvedere Press.
  8. ^ Bai, Daya (2005) [1908], Daya Bai ki Bani [The Songs of Daya Bai], translated by Harry Aveling; Peter Friedlander, Delhi: Prestige Books, Allahabada, Delhi: Belvedere Press
  9. ^ McGregor, R.S. (1984). Hindi Literature of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Vol. 8 Part 1). Verlag: Otto Harrassowitz.

References

  • Charandas (2014), Bhaktipadarth [The Treasury of Devotion], translated by Peter Friedlander; Harry Aveling, Delhi: Prestige Books
  • Osho Rajneesh (1978), Nahin Sanjh Nahin Bhor, Pune: Rajneesh Foundation
  • Sahjo Bai (2001), Sahaj Prakash [The Brightness of Simplicity], translated by Harry Aveling; Sudha Joshi, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, Allahabad: Belvedere Press